Starrucca

History

Starrucca was named after the founder's horse, which he rode as he surveyed the land. Other says Starrucca means either where waters meet in a Native American language, or that it is from a more ancient term meaning "where dreams go to die." (Star (rucca, dying, as in a dying star). The historic Stone Arch Bridge over Starrucca Creek was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 1, 1979, and was delisted on May 8, 1986, after being demolished. In 2003, Dennis and Donna Corrigan were honored by the Wayne County Historical Society with its Historic Preservation Award for their restoration of the Major Elisha Strong House in Starrucca. Born in 1818, Strong was a resident of New York and a former major in a militia unit who was awarded a 410-acre portion of the Pennsylvania estate of John Sherwood in 1852, including a plank house with board-and-batten siding and hemlock plank floors and doors. Built circa 1800, the house was later expanded with a Greek Revival-style addition. Strong subsequently formed a partnership with Guernsey Osborne and began operating the Starrucca Tannery; he then moved his family to Starrucca in 1862 and added cattle breeding and lumber production to his business portfolio. By 1872, he owned most of the town's land and buildings. Following his death in 1895, his widow, Estelle Strong, was awarded ownership of what would later become known as the Major Elisha Strong House; she then retained that ownership until 1921. The Barnes House, which is located on Depot Hill on Little Ireland Road in Starrucca, is a large clapboard residence that was built by Homer Spencer in 1888. Shortly thereafter, Spencer built a three-story grist mill; his historic property was then purchased eleven years later by Miles Kenyon and Arthur Laribee who…

Geography

Starrucca is located at (41.574214, -75.255966). According to the United States Census Bureau, Starrucca has a total area of 8.985 sq mi (23.27 km2), of which 8.915 sq mi (23.09 km2) is land and 0.070 sq mi (0.18 km2), or 0.77%, is water.

Most-observed species

• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  2,277
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  2,127
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,093
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  2,082
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  1,824
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,576
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,543
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  1,503